MacTech Blog

The global coprocessor market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.76% during the period 2017-2021, according to new data from Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com).

The research group says that one trend in the market is innovations in discrete GPU. NVIDIA is striving to provide a desktop-like gaming experience in laptops. At the GTC 2016 conference, the company announced the launch of the Quadro M5500 notebook video card for professional game developers. The M5500 is the first Quadro GPU that supports virtual reality (VR), enabling its computing partners to make their professional laptops VR ready.

According to Research and Markets, one driver in the market is growing popularity of smartphones. The smartphone market has been growing rapidly over the years, and ever since the advent of the iPhone. One of the biggest decisions that customers make in their...

The augmented reality (AR) market will reach $61.3 billion by 2023, according to new data from Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com).

The AR market was valued at $2.39 billion in 2016 and will grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate]of 55.71% during the forecast period, adds the research group. The increasing demand for AR devices and applications in medical, increase in demand for AR in the retail and e-commerce, and rising investment in the augmented reality market are the major drivers for the augmented reality market.

The head-mounted displays will hold a major share of the AR market. Head-mounted displays are the most promising devices to boost the growth of the augmented reality market, according to Research and Markets. With advancements in computing, AR-enabled devices would be used for applications in consumer, commercial, and enterprise. The use of head-...

High and low perceptions of technology are relative to an individual's “normal.” Just now, the Spy has finished his annual task of pressure washing the house, then putting some water on the squash and cucumber patch.

To someone living in Western society, small engine machines like pressure washers, string trimmers, generators, chain saws, lawn mowers and tractors are low technology--even to a city slicker who may not have heard of, much less used, any of these. Seen in use, all would be obvious and not particularly exciting--except perhaps to three-year-old grandson Gregory who would as, “But how does it work, Grandpa?"

Someone transported from a third world city slum would have less context, and might marvel, but to an Amazon jungle dweller, all would seem indistinguishable from magic--no concept of electricity or tap water, much less of the internal combustion engine, vinyl siding, or lawns. He or she might do well with a...

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that nearly six in 10 (57%) large corporations are either actively considering, or are in the process of, deploying blockchain technology.

Almost 400 company founders, executives, managers and IT responded to the research group’s survey; among companies who have reached the PoC (Proof of Concept) stage, two-thirds (66%) expected blockchain to be integrated into their systems by the end of 2018.

Using data from the survey, Juniper attendant deep dive strategy report identified settlement, land registry and digital fiat currency as ‘“best fit”opportunities for blockchain deployment, but cautioned that for each of these opportunities the scale and variety of barriers were significant. The research claimed that those companies which would benefit most from blockchain include those with:

Software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) solutions have only been commercially available for a few years, but the technology's ability to address pressing enterprise networking needs has led to remarkable growth. A new forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that worldwide SD-WAN infrastructure and services revenues will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 69.6% and reach $8.05 billion in 2021.

The most significant driver of SD-WAN growth over the next five years will be digital transformation (DX) in which enterprises deploy third platform technologies, including cloud, big data and analytics, mobility, and social business, to unlock new sources of innovation and creativity that enhance customer experiences and improve financial performance, according to IDC (www.idc.com). DX generally increases network workloads and elevates the network's end-to-end importance to business operations.

The global cloud infrastructure services market maintained strong momentum in the second quarter (Q2) of 2017, growing 47% year on year to reach US$14 billion, according to Canalys (www.canalys.com).

Amazon Web Services (AWS) remained the dominant cloud services provider, growing 42% on an annual basis and accounting for more than 30% of total spending, notes the research group. However, its growth rate was lower than those of its main rivals, Microsoft (97% growth) and Google (92% growth), but higher than fourth-placed IBM (23% growth). Overall, the top four cloud services providers represented 55% of the cloud infrastructure services market, which includes IaaS and PaaS.

Growth was driven by demand for primary cloud infrastructure services, such as on-demand computing and storage, across all customer segments and industries. However, Canalys predicts that future growth will be fueled by customers using...

Back-to-school shopping is in full swing, and both parents and teens are busy tackling long shopping lists. According to a new survey conducted on behalf of Ebates (www.ebates.com) many parents (42%) plan to spend between $100-$300—significantly less than the $250-$500 they planned to spend last year.

The survey also discovered that a majority of American parents are likely to take advantage of back-to-school promotions (80%). Social media is everywhere—and this year it’s even going to help teens with their back to school shopping decisions.

When asked which platform they use most frequently, teens say they use Instagram (68%) and Snapchat (67%) equally. Facebook was far behind, with only 39% of teens using it the most. College students rated Facebook much higher, however, with this age demographic selecting Instagram (71%), Snapchat (67%) and Facebook (66%) using each with about the same frequency.

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) finds that spending on online FDP (fraud detection and prevention) solutions is set to rise to $9.3 billion by 2022, an increase of 22% over this year’s anticipated spend.

The research group finds that perceptions of high software costs alongside relatively low awareness of effective solutions in the eCommerce space were slowing service uptake. Nevertheless, Juniper predicts that several factors would prove instrumental in driving the market forward.

The growing threat of insecure IoT (Internet of Things) devices will be key in driving FDP spend, notes Juniper. The evolution of IoT botnets from DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) weapons aimed at fraud automation tools will influence this trend, owing to a requirement for better customer verification tools.

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) finds that the sharing economy is set to see substantial growth, as players in more established sectors, such as transport and space, press their first mover advantage.

The research group forecasts that the sharing economy will reach $40.2 billion in 2022 in terms of platform provider revenues, up from $18.6 billion in 2017. Since Juniper’s previous research, some of the biggest names in the sharing economy including Uber and Lyft, have seen much greater returns from driver operations than expected. The proportion taken by these platforms is now around 30% per journey, as providers capitalize on an established driver network, notes Juniper.

In addition, uptake of many leading sharing services has increased considerably, with listings on shared space provider Airbnb growing from two million at the end of 2015, to 3 million this year....

The global refurbished and used mobile phone market will see an expansion of 8.9% CAGR [compound annual growth rate] during the forecast period 2017 to 2025, according to Persistence Market Research (www.persistencemarketresearch.com). Global sales of refurbished and used mobile phones are estimated to account for revenues worth almost $20 million this year, notes the research group.

Global leading manufacturers of mobile phones are emphasizing on green initiatives, by reusing and recycling their products for adopting sustainability. With rapid changes in technology, new innovative gadgets with updated features are being introduced in the market, resulting into reduction in customer usage cycle of mobile phones, says Persistence Market Research.

Premium brand refurbished and used mobile phones are expected to remain sought-after in the market, with sales expanding at a...

Market hype and growing interest in artificial intelligence (AI) are pushing established software vendors to introduce AI into their product strategy, creating considerable confusion in the process, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.garnter.com). The research group’s analysts predict that by 2020, AI technologies will be virtually pervasive in almost every new software product and service.

In January 2016, the term "artificial intelligence" was not in the top 100 search terms on gartner.com. By May 2017, the term ranked at No. 7, indicating the popularity of the topic and interest from Gartner clients in understanding how AI can and should be used as part of their digital business strategy. Gartner predicts that by 2020, AI will be a top five investment priority for more than 30 percent of CIOs.

"As AI accelerates up the Hype Cycle, many software providers are looking to stake their claim in the biggest gold...

A report by Newzoo (www.newzoo.com) on the global games market shows that 2.2 billion gamers across the globe are expected to generate $108.9 billion in game revenues in 2017. This represents an increase of $7.8 billion, or 7.8% from the year before.

Digital game revenues will account for $94.4 billion or 87% of the global market. The Newzoo report also indicates that mobile is the most lucrative segment, with smartphone and tablet gaming growing rapidly or at 19% year on year to $46.1 billion and accounting for 42% of the market. In 2020, mobile gaming will represent just more than half of the total games market.

Newzoo says that the Asia-Pacific is by far the largest region, with China expected to generate $27.5 billion or one-quarter of all revenues in 2017. Mobile games performed even better than expected in China, while the PC segments performed worse than anticipated. North America is the second-largest...

New data from International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts that total IT spending by small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) will approach $568 billion in 2017 and increase by more than $100 billion to exceed $676 billion in 2021.

With a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5%, spending by businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees on IT hardware, software, and services, including business services, is expected to be slightly stronger than the research group's previous forecast.

"SMB IT spending growth continues to track about two percentage points higher than GDP growth across regions. But beneath that slowly rising tide are faster moving currents that reflect the changing ways SMBs are acquiring and deploying technology," said Ray Boggs, vice president, SMB Research at IDC.

SMBs around the world are increasingly interested in investing in resources to improve employee productivity and improve their competitive positions. Boggs noted that while...

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that operator revenues from international mobile roaming are expected to experience an 11% decline in 2017, as operators introduce “Roam Like at Home” packages in key markets including Europe, North America and Asia.

“Roam Like at Home”enables mobile users to use their monthly voice, data, and messaging allowance while roaming without incurring additional charges. Juniper Research forecasts that the annual revenues, worth an estimated $54 billion in 2016, will decline to $48 billion in 2017 as revenues generated from increased usage in many markets fail to offset those lost by lower roaming charges in the EU.

“This decline in global revenues is due to a 33% fall in European roaming revenues, following the EU regulation to end roaming surcharges,” research author Nitin Bhas added. “While we expect roaming tariffs outside...

Worldwide spending on public cloud services and infrastructure is forecast to reach $266 billion in 2021, according to new data from IDC (www.idc.com). Although spending growth will slow somewhat over the 2016-2021 forecast period, the market is expected to achieve a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21%, notes the research group.

Public cloud services spending will reach $128 billion in 2017, an increase of 25.4% over 2016. The U.S. will be the largest market for public cloud services accounting for more than 60% of worldwide revenues throughout the forecast and total spending of $163 billion in 2021. Western Europe and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan)(APeJ) will be the second and third largest regions with 2021 spending levels of $52 billion and $25 billion, respectively. APeJ and Latin America will experience the fastest spending growth over the forecast period with CAGRs of 26.7% and 26.2%, respectively....

Businesses prefer storing data in the cloud but plan to invest in extra security precautions, according to the second report in Clutch's “Annual Cloud Computing Survey.” Clutch (https://clutch.co) is a B2B ratings and reviews firm.

Nearly 70% of businesses on the cloud prefer storing data in the cloud instead of on a legacy system, and these businesses are willing to invest heavily in keeping their cloud's data secure. In fact, over half of companies surveyed spend more than $100,000 annually on additional cloud security features.

One reason for the high investment in cloud security is companies' greater awareness of the security risks that are out of their cloud provider's control, according to industry experts, according to Clutch. When it comes to application-level security, including user access, password sharing, and other individual interactions, the company and its employees shoulder the responsibility...

New research examining how organizations are evolving from a traditional office environment to a digital workplace reveals that gaining competitive advantage and improving business process are among the top goals of their digital transformation strategy. This is according to 40% of 800 organizations in 15 countries on five continents that were interviewed for a new Dimension Data (www.dimensiondata.com).

The research group says that digital transformation is not just about adopting the technologies of the past: 62% of research participants expect to have technology such as virtual advisors in their organizations within the next two years. In addition, 58% expect to start actively investing in technology that powers virtual advisors in the next two years.

Today, the digital workplace is no longer just made up of managers and those managed; co-workers collaborating with one another to complete...

A new Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) report notes that 59% of U.S. broadband households subscribe to Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu.

The firm's OTT Video Market Tracker service notes that only 6% of U.S. broadband households subscribe to any other OTT service without also having a subscription to one of the top three services, while 3% subscribe to one or more sports OTT video service, including MLB.TV, NFL Game Pass, NBA League Pass, or WWE Network.

The OTT Video Market Tracker ongoing service provides industry research data and analysis of competing players' strengths and weaknesses in the space and includes an exhaustive analysis of market trends and profiles of more than 100 OTT video service providers in the U.S. and Canada.

"U.S. consumers are not taking solely a Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu subscription. Many are shopping around and trialing new services to get access to...

The use of mobile peer-to-peer payment apps, such as Venmo, in the US will continue to experience double-digit growth through 2021, according to eMarketer’s (www.emarketer.com) latest mobile banking/payments forecast.

The transaction value of mobile peer-to-peer payments in the U.S. will grow 55.0% this year to $120.38 billion, notes the research group. Transaction values are on pace to double by 2021. This year in particular, growth of P2P payment apps will largely be driven by the rollout of Zelle, a network of more than 30 banks and credit unions that will allow banking customers to transfer money to others within the network. It will be rolled out over the next 12 months.

“Mobile P2P payments have been driven by the desire for convenience, on-demand payments and the widespread adoption of smartphones,” said eMarketer forecasting analyst Cindy Liu. “Strong double-digit growth is...

A new report from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) forecasts that commercial aircraft adopting in-flight Wi-Fi services will reach 14,419 globally by 2022, up from an estimated 5,243 in 2017. This will mean that over half of the global fleet will offer such services in 2022, compared with just under a quarter this year.

This increase will primarily be driven by the impact of the BYOD (bring your own device) trend, despite increased security concerns from several governments, primarily the US, which has given rise to the so-called “laptop ban,” says the research group. Juniper found that in-flight wireless streaming is increasingly being offered as an IFE (in-flight entertainment) option, based on a lower installation cost and weight savings versus seatback systems.

Newly released results from IDC (www.idc.com) reveal that the top drivers of cloud adoption include improving agility and security, as well as standardizing IT infrastructure.

As multi-cloud environments and hybrid cloud become more prevalent, the survey revealed that 87% of cloud users have adopted some capabilities for a hybrid cloud strategy, an increase of 17% compared to 2016, according to the research group.

"Beyond adoption and maturity, a series of questions on 'why are' or 'why aren't' respondents moving more workloads to the cloud makes up a key part of the study," said Ben jamin McGrath, senior research analyst, SaaS and Cloud Software.

Additional findings from the study include:

° 56% of users run more than one type of cloud deployment.

° 40% of cloud users are "Cloud First" organizations.

"When we look at the shift in IT spend over the next 12-24 months to more of a mix of...

The global E-SIM card market is predicted to see the entry of a “significant number” of new players and intensifying competition in the future, according to Transparency Market Research (TMR). A few of the prominent players operating in the global E-SIM card market are Apple, Samsung, Gemalto N.V., Giesecke & Devrient, NTT DOCOMO, OT-Morpho, Telefonica S.A., Deutsche Telekom AG, Sierra Wireless., and ST Microelectronics.

A report by Transparency Market Research (www.transparencymarketresearch.cxom) projects the global E-SIM card market to expand at 13.5% CAGR [compound annual growth rate] between 2017 and 2025. At this rate, the market is expected to be pegged at $14,6 million by 2025, increasing from $4 million in 2016.

The global E-SIM card market based upon application is segmented into machine to machine (M2M), wearable and companion devices, smartphones, and...

Consumer, SOHO, and SMB network attached storage market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) now through 2021, according to a new report from ReportsnReports (reportsandreports.com). Part of that is due to the increasing popularity of cloud-based NAS, a remote storage system that can be accessed over the Internet, adds the research group.

According to the ReportsnReports report, another driver in the market is raising demand for video surveillance systems. Smart home security is among the most demanding IoT applications from the consumer's end point. Smart home security systems operate on the centralized control of the home gateway where the intelligence shifts onto the cloud network. Cloud-based services provide a more user-friendly system to end-users for controlling the security devices as part of the cloud-based system. Issues such as interoperability, updating of software and so on would all be taken care of by cloud services.

A new report from Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) predicts that the global docking station market will grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 5.87 % during the period 2017-2021.

The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is growing market for wireless docking stations, according to the research group. The growing popularity of wireless electronic devices, such as laptops and smartphones, is encouraging docking station manufacturers to design and produce docking stations that can connect to laptops and smartphones wirelessly.

Docking stations are becoming important, especially in workplaces, as they provide employees the freedom to use external monitors and other input devices with ease. However, wired docking stations add a constraint to the workplace as they restrict the mobility of users.

5K Display Resolutions is the next generation of ultra-high-definition displays and it's already causing a stir in the tech world, offering just over seven times the resolution of 1080p full HD both horizontally and also vertically. I

According to a recent study report published by Market Research Future (www.marketresearchfuture.com), the global market of 5K display resolutions has increased in recent years. The market is expected to grow at a rapid pace through 2023, according to the research group The 5K display resolutions market is forecasted to demonstrate a spectacular growth by 2023, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a striking CAGR [compound annual growth rate] during this period, adds the research group.

The continuous developments and increasing technological advancements are major factors leading to growth of 5K display resolution market....

The long-term prospect for these technologies is that they will become embedded in many different other technologies and provide autonomous decision making on behalf of humans, both directly, and indirectly through many processes, products, and services, according to Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) AI will anticipated to have an ever increasing role in ICT including both traditional telecommunications as well as many communications enabled applications and digital commerce, adds the research group.

Some of us are already enjoying new technology when designing or building our homes – such as IoT [Internet of Things] devices, interior design apps or even AI. It’s predicted that soon most of our homes will enter digital age. Here is a rundown of the major features of a house of the future, according to the folks at Planner 5D (www.planner5d.com), an interior design platform.

° Smart interior apps. Why hire a designer, when a room can be professionally designed by the owner? Such design apps as Planner 5D gives its users the possibility to create floor plans and furnish their apartment or house based on a catalogue. The users can move furniture around, choose texture, color and size of all the pieces. It also analyzes projects crafted by millions of other people, and offers creative ideas for turning one’s apartment or house into an original, tasteful home.

Birthdays engender delays, which is why this tome is a few days late, being written on the third of July. Canada Day number 150 falling on a Saturday this year, meant the national holiday substituting for it fell on the Spy's own birthday. Nice of the country to celebrate for me, but really…

'Course, that other fractious country to the south had its birthday Tuesday. In view of recent national and other elections, the questions of course for pundits and historians are: (a) is either country (or the states/provinces therein) mature? and (b) can either avoid falling apart due to deep divisions?

Canada may be less far along the road to potential disintegration at the moment, but both neatly illustrate the Spy's old prediction that the Internet, when it came, rather then ushering in the global village, would more likely bring disparate people into contact only to exacerbate intrenched hatreds. Country vs city, have vs have not,...

According to the IDC (www.idc.com) vendor revenue from sales of infrastructure products (server, storage, and Ethernet switch) for cloud IT, including public and private cloud, grew 14.9% year over year in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17), reaching $8 billion.

Cloud IT infrastructure sales as a share of overall worldwide IT spending climbed to 39% in 1Q17, a significant increase from 33.9% a year ago. Revenue from infrastructure sales to private cloud grew by 6.0% to $3.1 billion, and to public cloud by 21.7% to $4.8 billion. In comparison, revenue in the traditional (non-cloud) IT infrastructure segment decreased 8.0% year over year in the first quarter of the year.

Private cloud infrastructure growth was led by Ethernet switch at 15.5% year-over-year growth, followed by storage (excluding double counting with servers) at 10.0% and server at 2.1%. Public cloud growth was led by storage, which after heavy declines...

Analysts at Beige Market Intelligence (http://www.beigemarketintelligence.com) expect that the global smart home hub market is likely to post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 5% and 4% in terms of unit shipment and revenue, respectively during 2016-2022.

As customers are increasing relying on smartphones and the convenience of information available on them through a large number of websites, their needs along with their expectations have altered, notes the research group. By using a voice-assistance technology, companies are trying to offer their customers something which can assist them and make their life convenient.

The increase in per capita income and the number of dual-income households also constitute the basis of increasing spending on innovative devices such as smart home hubs. Apart from an increasing demand from developed markets, factors...

A new forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that the trend of strong market growth in digital strategy and agency services will continue through 2021.

The strong growth rates in spending are attributed to the degree of maturity in Digital Transformation (DX) strategies as executives carefully consider and plan for the impact of digital innovation on everything from enterprise business goals to products and service innovation, business processes, organizational structures, and the workforce, according to IDC (www.idc.com).

As DX becomes completely foundational to future business, the proportion of digital-related consulting engagements will increase from about half of all business and information technology (IT) consulting engagements in 2013–2015 to approximately 70% of all engagements in 2020 or 2021, driving the total market for digital strategy and agency services to well over $100 billion in...

The AR (augmented reality) gaming market is expected to reach $284.93 billion by 2023, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 152.7% from 2017 to 2023, according to Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com).

Increasing integration of AR into mobile devices, growing online population, innovations in gaming technology, and demand for IoT-based applications are forcing the organizations to integrating AR into their traditional gaming, according to the research group. The increasing online gamers and internet penetration are some of the additional factors contributing to the market growth.

The growing affordability and availability of AR games in mobile devices is a prime factor driving the market growth, according to Research and Markets. Many organizations are hugely investing in the advanced solutions that integrate AR games into mobile devices, enabling them to...

IDC (www.idc.com) says retail banks (including thrift banks and credit unions) in the U.S. will spend $20.2 billion on hardware, software, services, and internal IT staff to develop and implement DX initiatives in 2017, growing at an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.5% into 2020.

This compares with growth of 4.8% in overall IT spend for U.S. banks. The forecast by the research highlights spending by US–based banks across four categories of DX technology: hardware, software, IT services, and internal IT.

"There are very few banks in the United States that aren't investing in transformational technologies, and fewer still that haven't at least developed a digital transformation strategy,” said Jerry Silva, esearch director, Global Retail Banking, IDC Financial Insights. And the largest institutions are allocating more than 40% of their IT budgets to digital transformation.”

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) highlights the increasing dominance of Chinese companies in digital payments, with players such as Alibaba, Tencent and UnionPay seeking to bolster their revenues through international expansion.

According to the research group, digital payment transaction values are expected to reach $5 trillion by 2021, up from $3.6 trillion this year, of which $3.4 trillion will come from sales outside mainland China.

The report, which identified a series of key strategic approaches for players across the digital payments market, argues that both Alibaba and Tencent are keen to capitalize on the growing spend by both Chinese tourists and immigrant workers, now worth over $200 billion per annum. Potential game-changing decisions are Alipay’s move to roll out instore payments in Europe and Tencent’s efforts to deploy its WeChat wallet, which...

Over 50% of websites collect visitors' email addresses, creating the possibility of privacy breaches, as revealed by a survey conducted by Clutch (https://clutch.co/), a research and reviews platform for business services.

Website visitors' email addresses are most commonly collected (57%), followed by names (47%), and locations (45%), the survey found. Although this information can provide valuable insights for businesses, inconsistent security measures may increase the risk to visitors' privacy, according to Clutch. Industry leaders point out that email addresses present the greatest security risk to consumers.
"When data is correlated over multiple web services, whether that is a Gmail account, a bank account, or a password retrieval from Facebook, it's done through the email address," said Idan Udi Edry, CEO of Trustifi, a company specializing in email transaction data security and privacy. "The...

Businesses have become less skeptical of cloud computing, more confident in its security, and more inclined to invest money in it, according to new findings.

Nearly 70% of U.S. businesses surveyed by B2B ratings and reviews firm Clutch (https://clutch.co/cloud) say that they plan to increase spending on cloud computing in 2017. One in five of those businesses report that their cloud computing spending this year will likely increase by more than 30%.

The increased spending on cloud computing is likely due to a shift in perspective, according to experts. The cloud is no longer seen by many businesses as simply an alternative option, but as the next logical step for data storage and management.
"Cloud is the new normal," said Jeremy Przygode, CEO of Stratalux, Inc., a California-based Managed Service Provider (MSP). "When businesses need to evaluate new solutions, or need to do a hardware...

The global cloud mobile music services market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 7% from 2017-2021, according to Technavio’s (www.technavio.com) latest market research.

“Cloud-based online music enables listeners to move from the traditional way of owning music to a new model of 'anytime-anywhere' access to music. Moving from an ownership model to subscription and ad-supported music is likely to change the music preferences of consumers as they will experiment more with the new forms of music,” says Ishmeet Kaur, a lead enterprise application research expert from Technavio.

In 2016, the US and Canada were the key regions in the cloud mobile music services market in North America. Increasing number of mobile phone users, rising Internet penetration, and popular social media fueled the demand for cloud mobile music services in the region. In 2016, there was an increase...

New data from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that retailers stand to lose $71 billion globally from fraudulent CNP (Card-Not-Present) transactions over the next five years. The research found that a number of factors, such as the USA’s shift to EMV cards, delays in 3DS 2.0 (3D-Secure) and click-and-collect fraud were key drivers behind the rise.

Juniper’s latest research found that many merchants still perceive combatting fraud as too expensive. Consequently, they have been ill-prepared to deal with the shift to online fraud following the introduction of EMV (CHIP and signature) payment cards in the USA.

Nevertheless, Juniper’s cost analysis of FDP (fraud detection and prevention) solutions found that in most instances, merchants would receive value from their investment. The analyst house urges players across the value chain to increase their efforts in educating...

Voice controlled smart speaker unit shipments are expected to increase from around 10 million to approximately 80 million, between 2017 and 2022, globally, according to new data from Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com). This includes market segments: voice controlled room speakers, portable/battery powered speakers, sound bars and wireless multi-room speakers.

Voice controlled smart speakers are experiencing significant growth and are playing an important role in the evolution of the voice user interface. Recent developments in artificial intelligence, and natural language processing to enhance voice recognition capabilities has increased the overall demand for voice software platforms embedded in speakers and smart home devices.

A range of innovative voice technologies are creating new opportunities across a broad range of use case applications from streaming content, and...

A new report from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has revealed that, by 2022, 50% of consumer vehicles on the road will have at least one connectivity service, such as telematics, V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communications, or connected car commerce services.

The new research found that revenues from consumer connected car services will rise from $18.4bn in 2017 to $49.2bn in 2022, a 21.6% CAGR (compound annual growth rate). Increasing industry involvement from OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and network operators, combined with the development of new V2X services, will be key drivers for future growth.

Juniper Research found that automotive OEMs must prepare to capitalize on the impending opportunities of V2X services, such as smart parking and automated fuel payments. North America will emerge as the leading region in this space, accounting for 39% of all end-user spend...

Spohn Security Solutions says 32% of businesses were victims of a major cyber-attack over the past year. The corporate world loses $388 billion annually recovering from cybersecurity breaches, $55 billion is spent annually fixing computer viruses alone, according to the research group.

Timothy Crosby, senior security consultant for Spohn Security Solutions (https://spohnsolutions.com), says while cyber criminals bear the brunt of blame, much of the security threat comes from within an organization. A survey of 4,500 CIOs and technology leaders found that:

° The insider threat is the #1 fastest-growing security risk;

° Fifty-five percent of businesses reported a security breach due to a malicious or negligent employee;

° Fifty percent of individuals causing a breach were granted IT system access by their organization.

The older we get, the less likely we are to want to experiment with novel flavors and fragrances, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData (www.globaldata.com).

The research group’s latest report shows that younger consumers are the most experimental demographic, with GlobalData’s survey data showing that nearly four out five millennials globally say they enjoy experimenting with foreign products. This trend declines with age, with just 57% of those in the older “silent generation” (those born between 1925 and 1945) agreeing.

“Millennials are more open to new and innovative concepts, indicative of wider exposure to foreign cultures and products from an early age compared to their senior peers,” says Melanie Felgate, senior consumer analyst for GlobalData.

Curiosity has emerged as the key driver of appetite for new flavors and fragrances,

The IDC research group (www.idc.com) says 3D printer shipments increased 29% in 2016 while revenue grew by more than 18% year-over-year in 2016.

"The 3D printing market surge continues on a worldwide basis with more technology and materials options, which are driving more investment in 3D printers and greater utilization of the equipment that has been installed" said Tim Greene, research director, Hardcopy Solutions at IDC. "We're seeing exciting growth in some of the key technology segments, with FFF/FDM, SLA, and Powder-bed Fusion all growing at double-digit rates year over year" Greene continued.

The fastest-growing technology segments were FFF/FDM and Stereolithography, which each grew shipments by nearly 30% in 2016 vs. 2015. On the revenue side, powder-bed fusion-based 3D printers grew by nearly 40% from 2015 to 2016.

The strongest growth in 3D printer shipments came from the Asia/Pacific region (...

A new report from Juniper Research (www.juniperesearch.com) forecasts that smart toy sales will reach $15.5 billion in hardware and app content revenues by 2022, up from an estimated $4.9 billion in 2017.

This increase will primarily be driven by the growing popularity of smartphone-based connected toys and the enduring appeal of console-connected “toys to life,” action figures that interact with a video game via a reader device, adds the research group. The new research identified the Lego Group as being particularly well positioned in this category, with their successful “toys to life” range, Lego Dimension. Juniper forecasts that 224 million smart toys will be shipped worldwide in 2017.

The study found that many players in the smart toy segment are not only appealing to children, but also to ‘“kidults” and collectors, as demonstrated by Sphero’s BB8 app-enabled droid and Lego Dimension’s A-...

The latest findings from Canalys’ (www.canalys.com) Autonomous Vehicle Analysis service show that four cities lead the way when it comes to being ready for autonomous vehicles. San Francisco is out in front, followed by Shanghai, Singapore and London.

These rise to the top of a group of cities that, due to their size and populations, have some of the most complex transport networks in the world. The top four have a high need for autonomous vehicles to revolutionize their transport systems, combined with the ability to make it happen.

These conclusions come from Canalys’ recently published Autonomous Vehicle Readiness Index (AVRI), which ranks, weights and scores cities based on a set of specific criteria drawn from public sources and Canalys’ own data and estimates.

“Naturally, San Francisco leads the way and is the city best able to implement autonomous vehicles. The Bay Area is renowned as the...

A new study by ID Analytics (www.idanalytics.com), which specializes in consumer risk management, finds that using alternative credit scores for safe lending can dramatically increase the number of individuals that are considered eligible for credit.

Through the use of alternative scores, lenders are able to see a more complete picture of an applicant’s credit worthiness. This enables more marginal, subprime or unscoreable individuals to take advantage of mainstream financial services.

While a significant number of U.S. consumers rely on credit for financial stability, many have difficulty gaining access to credit due to no or poor traditional credit scores. Millennials, immigrants and individuals with lower incomes are groups that are most likely to be seen by lenders and bureaus as “unscoreable.”

The application of automation and artificial intelligence to mission-critical business processes will more than triple by 2019, reflecting growing confidence in such technologies, new research from Information Services Group (ISG) (www.isg-one-com), a global technology research and advisory firm, has found.

In an ISG survey of more than 500 business and IT leaders, 16% say they’re currently applying automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to one or more mission-critical business processes. More than three times as many (51%) say they expect to do so by 2019. This rapid increase in adoption, the ISG Automation and AI Survey report notes, suggests IT and business leaders are becoming more confident that current proof-of-concept and pilot projects will move into production in the next 24 months.

The combined consumer and enterprise worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments decreased 0.8% year over year in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17), finishing at $2.15 billion, according to IDC.

The enterprise segment grew 4.4% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17) to reach $1.24 billion, notes the research group. Enterprise WLAN growth moderated in 1Q17 compared to 1Q16, when year-over-year growth registered a stronger 8.6%. However, demand for network refreshes, digital transformation (DX) initiatives, and the continued maturation of Wave 2 802.11ac are positive indicators for stronger growth going forward in 2017.

The 802.11ac standard now accounts for 70.9% of dependent access point unit shipments and 84.7% of dependent access point revenues. This points to a continued trend of 802.11n obsolescence, which is expected to be nearly complete by the end of 2018, says IDC.

BitSight (www.bitsighttech.com), which specializes in security ratings, has released a new report titled, "A Growing Risk Ignored: Critical Updates," analyzing more than 35,000 companies from industries across the globe over the last year, to better understand the usage of outdated computer operating systems and Internet browsers, the time to it took to update operating systems once a new release was made available, and how these practices correlate to data breaches.

The data shows that there are large gaps in asset management programs across the globe. Organizations must be more vigilant about limiting their attack surface by more rapidly addressing exploitable vulnerabilities, according to BitSight

The conclusion of this research coincides with "WannaCry," a strain of ransomware that affected over 300,000 computers worldwide across banks, hospitals, telecommunications services, and train...

Cloud computing is no longer a decision made solely for tactical reasons like cost savings or ease of implementation, according to InSight (https://www.insight.com/en_US/home.html). Key strategic business demands—the need for greater business agility, data capabilities, and better customer and user experiences—are compelling companies to embrace cloud systems, according to the research group.

Respondents to an InSight survey are nearly split when it comes to hybrid and private cloud adoption, while total public cloud usage captures only a fraction of the market:

° Hybrid approach with systems hosted in both the public and private clouds (42%);

Software Updates via MacUpdate

VOX 3.2.1 - Music player that supports m...

VOX just sounds better! The beauty is in its simplicity, yet behind the minimal exterior lies a powerful music player with a ton of features and support for all audio formats you should ever need.... Read more

Evernote 7.0 - Create searchable notes a...

Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at anytime, from... Read more

Hopper Disassembler 4.3.16- - Binary dis...

Hopper Disassembler is a binary disassembler, decompiler, and debugger for 32- and 64-bit executables. It will let you disassemble any binary you want, and provide you all the information about its... Read more

Default Folder X 5.2.2 - Enhances Open a...

Default Folder X attaches a toolbar to the right side of the Open and Save dialogs in any OS X-native application. The toolbar gives you fast access to various folders and commands. You just click on... Read more

EtreCheck 4.0.1 - For troubleshooting yo...

EtreCheck is an app that displays the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to... Read more

Carbon Copy Cloner 5.0.9 - Easy-to-use b...

Carbon Copy Cloner backups are better than ordinary backups. Suppose the unthinkable happens while you're under deadline to finish a project: your Mac is unresponsive and all you hear is an ominous,... Read more

QuickBooks 17.2.25.638 R26 - Financial m...

QuickBooks helps you manage your business easily and efficiently. Organize your finances all in one place, track money going in and out of your business, and spot areas where you can save.
Built for... Read more

Monosnap 3.4.10 - Versatile screenshot u...

Monosnap lets you capture screenshots, share files, and record video and .gifs!
Features
Capture
Capture full screen, just part of the screen, or a selected window
Make your crop area pixel... Read more

Vivaldi 1.14.1077.50 - An advanced brows...

Vivaldi is a browser for our friends.
In 1994, two programmers started working on a web browser. Our idea was to make a really fast browser, capable of running on limited hardware, keeping in mind... Read more

Viber 8.2.0 - Send messages and make fre...

Viber lets you send free messages and make free calls to other Viber users, on any device and network, in any country!
Viber syncs your contacts, messages and call history with your mobile device, so... Read more

Latest Forum Discussions

Our top 5 characters from casual RPG Cre...

Creature Quest definitely lives up to its name with a host of collectible creatures based on fantasy tales and world mythologies. To celebrate Creature Quest’s first birthday, we’re going to lay out what we think are the five best characters in the... | Read more »

Around the Empire: What have you missed...

Did you know that Steel Media has a whole swathe of other sites dedicated to all aspects of mobile gaming? Sure you'll get the very best iPhone news, reviews, and opinions right here at 148Apps, but we don't want you missing out on a single piece... | Read more »

All the best games on sale for iPhone an...

Oh hi there, and welcome to our round-up of the best games that are currently on sale for iPhone and iPad. You thought I didn't see you there, did you, skulking behind the bushes? Trust me though, the bushes aren't where the best deals are. The... | Read more »

The Battle of Polytopia Guide - How to H...

A new update just released for The Battle of Polytopia (formerly Super Tribes), which introduces online multiplayer. For all the fans of Midjiwan’s lite take on Civilization, this is certainly welcome news, but playing online isn’t as easy and... | Read more »

Here are the very best mobile games to p...

It's Valentine's Day! Did you get loads of cards and chocolates and other tacky, simple expressions of human affection? Did you send out tat because you find it almost impossible to express emotion unless there's a section dedicated to it at your... | Read more »

A laid-back mix of RPG and TCG, Creature Quest is all about building your deck, evolving your creatures and winning in battle. It’s the creation of VC Mobile, set up by Might and Magic producer Jon Van Caneghem. There are elements of that classic... | Read more »

Check out this awesome hands-on with the...

Well, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has come out on mobile. This isn't a clone, this isn't a riff on the battleroyale mechanics of the game, it's the official mobile port by Tencent. But there's a little bit of a hitch.
[Read more]
| Read more »

Hostage Negotiator (Entertainment)

Hostage Negotiator 1.1.0
Device: iOS Universal
Category: Entertainment
Price: $3.99, Version: 1.1.0 (iTunes)
Description:
Official app of the board game by AJ Porfirio and Van Ryder Games.
In Hostage Negotiator, you play the part of... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Saturday Sale: Amazon offers 13″ 1.8GHz/256GB...

Amazon has the 13″ 1.8GHz/256B Apple MacBook Air on sale today for $250 off MSRP including free shipping:
– 13″ 1.8GHz/256GB MacBook Air (MQD42LL/A): $949.99, $250 off MSRP
Their price is the lowest... Read more

Roundup of Apple Certified Refurbished 12″ Ma...

Apple has Certified Refurbished 2017 12″ Retina MacBooks available for $200-$240 off the cost of new models. Apple will include a standard one-year warranty with each MacBook, and shipping is free.... Read more

Apple offers Certified Refurbished 10″ and 12...

Apple is now offering Certified Refurbished 2017 10″ and 12″ iPad Pros for $100-$190 off MSRP, depending on the model. An Apple one-year warranty is included with each model, and shipping is free:
–... Read more

Apple Canada offers Certified Refurbished Mac...

Canadian shoppers can save up to $560 on the purchase of a 2017 current-generation MacBook Pro, MacBook, or MacBook Air with Certified Refurbished models at Apple Canada. Apple’s refurbished prices... Read more

Adorama has the 8-core iMac Pro on sale for $4799 including free shipping plus NY & NJ sales tax only. Their price is $200 off MSRP, and it’s the currently lowest price available for an iMac Pro.
Read more

Sale! Walmart lowers prices even more on 9″ i...

Walmart has lowered their sale price on 9.7″ Apple iPads to $80 off MSRP for a limited time. Sale prices are for online orders only, in-store prices may vary:
– 9″ 32GB iPad: $249.99 $80 off
– 9″... Read more

Roundup of 13″ MacBook Pro sales, models avai...

B&H Photo has 13″ MacBook Pros on sale for up to $200 off MSRP. Shipping is free, and B&H charges sales tax for NY & NJ residents only. Their prices are the lowest available for these... Read more

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